Is she normal?

Alright. Forget that. I already know my kid isn't normal. I mean, look at her parents!

But there are days that I wonder if she is normal on the developmental scale. I know no two kids are the same and each child develops at their own pace. But hey, I'm new at this. Maybe I should ask if I'm developing as a mommy normally?

That answer is probably no. Who knows? I do know that I am the biggest worrier I've ever met, minus my boss. He will win that contest every time. And I know that I am always comparing myself to others. And that leads me to compare Bean to other kids. Is that fair? Heck no. Does that make me stop doing it? Heck no.

My latest worry is that Bean must have ADD or be one of those "hard to manage" kids. Why do I think that? Well, she won't stay still. Yep. That's it. That's the reason. She's 17 months old and she won't stay still. I know from the outside looking in that I'm crazy. I know that. But here on the inside, it all makes perfect sense to me.

See, the reason that I think there's something wrong with Bean is that today on my break, I was reading a very highly regarded parenting magazine...a/k/a People Magazine. (Hold your rotten tomatoes for a minute.) And in said magazine, there was a blurb about a celebrity mom that took their 17 month-old child to one of those pottery places where you can paint your own bowl or plate or what-have-you.

This got me to thinking about The Bean. I cannot for the life of me imagine me taking Bean to one of these places. I can't imagine a pottery place having enough insurance to cover our visit. I know how it would go...

"Bean, sit down in the chair."

"Bean, don't eat the paint."

"Bean, don't paint me."

"Bean, don't paint that little boy."

"Bean, get down off of that shelf."

"Bean, please stop throwing those plates."

You see what I mean. It would be a disaster. But that got me to thinking. Why can this mom do those things with her child who is the exact same age as mine? I just know that this celebrity spawn did not make a mess, did not fuss or whine, and probably painted something Picasso would be proud of. I just know it.

And I know that The Bean would just have a good time sticking her fingers in the paint and then sticking her fingers in her nose. I know this. So this must be why there is something wrong with my child's development. Maybe I should call the pediatrician to see how young you can start kids on Ritalin?

I need to stop obsessing and let my child be a child, right? I need to take it one day at a time, one "get down off of that" at a time, and not worry about something until there is something to worry about. That's what I need to do but I'm having a hard time computing that on the inside.

Bean vs. The Box

As most kids do, Bean likes to play with empty boxes.

At first, this seemed to be a pretty fun game.

Now, let's see, how do we get out of this thing?

Hmmm, well let me try it this way.

Starting to look a little worried...

Mommy!!!! Help!!!!! I give up! Waaaaahhhhh!

And the winner is....

Bean got revenge later on when she helped Mommy tote the box out to the trashcan. With her signature circular wave and a single "bye", all was well with the world again.

Wordless Wednesday - PawPaw's Tractor

Vacation's over - wah wah wah

Yep, my vacation is now over and I'm back to the grind of fulltime work. I can't explain to you how horrible I felt this morning having to leave Bean and go off to work. My heart broke all over again like it did the first day back from maternity leave. I wished I was independently wealthy so I could stay home with her. No, not even wealthy, just able to pay our bills each month and keep us clothed, covered, and fed.

But we're not so I have to turn my darling baby over to someone else each weekday morning and I have to walk heavy-hearted back to my car to start the long commute away from my child. I know what I am doing for her is the right thing because this is what we have to do right now, but that doesn't make it any easier. I just hope that one day she will understand why I had to do it and more than that, I hope one day, she will be in a better position so if she has her own child, she won't have to leave them if she doesn't want to. Good luck, Bean! I hope you'll have an easier time at mommyhood than I did.

Wordless Wednesday - Bubblebutt

Vacation - Day 2

Well we did make it to and from Alabama safely. They even now have a Starbucks so I think maybe they are starting to civilize themselves out there. Hubz' grandparents live near Lake Martin and since my brother-in-law is home on leave, the whole family got together for a day of great food and some fun in the sun.

Bean had a good time running all over and getting in the lake. I've never seen a bunch of kids so tired out as all of these were.

One thing that I just don't understand about Alabama (well, there are many things) but the one that struck me yesterday was that how is it that people there can spell names like Opelika, Weetumpka, Oneonta, and Sylacauga correctly but they get stuck on this: Phenix City.

Vacation - Day 1

Monday was the first day of my vacation, and yes , this year it is a " stay-cation". Don't you love that word? Isn't it nice that we can come up with words like these to make us feel better about the fact that we're poor and didn't do any pre-planning?

Well yesterday me and the Bean did alot of this:



Now today we are on our way to a bad, bad, scary crazy place that I hope none of you ever have to experience in your sweet, sweet lives. We call it "the place of which we do not speak". You might know it as Alabama.

Pray that the force will be with us.

Brother from another mother

My mother used to tell me that when she was pregnant with me she was afraid my brother and I would always fight with each other because there was a big age difference between the two of us.  But when I came along, because I was so beautimous, of course, my brother was very excited.  When I was a baby, wherever we went, he would introduce me to everyone.  My mother told me he would say “this is my little sister.  Isn’t she cute?”  Sadly, my brother passed away when I was very little.  I do have memories of him, though.  I remember his smile and his red hair.  I remember fighting with him over the tv on Saturday mornings.  This was “back in the day” before we ever got a tv with a remote.  I remember the two of us sitting in my dad’s chair watching tv.  He would put it on something that always involved cars.  As soon as he sat down in the chair, I would get up and walk up to the tv and change it to cartoons.  Then I’d go sit back down in the chair and my brother would get back up and change it again.  This would go on and on until my mother would put a stop to it.

I also have a memory of coloring with my brother and not wanting to share the broken cornflower blue crayon.  It was my favorite, you see.  Instead of letting my brother use the crayon, I shoved it up my nose.  I remember the look on his face when I did that.  He screamed for my mother and the only other thing I remember is being in a doctor’s office or emergency room and a doctor standing there with a long tweezer-like instrument.  I have a few other memories but for today I will keep those close to my heart.  My mother was always amazed that I remembered these things.  She thought I was too young.  But I think you can remember things about the people that you love and admire.

I really did admire my brother.  When I married my husband, I was excited because he had two brothers.  I had loved my own brother very much and every year I would put “baby brother” on my Christmas list to Santa even though my mother kept telling me that the “baby factory was closed”.  I thought she must have bad information because I kept seeing other babies pop up all over the place.  Now, with Hubz having two brothers, I thought that Santa had finally listened.  Of course, I’m still waiting on that danged Barbie Dream House.

My brothers-in-law, “the BILS”, are very unique individuals.  And I don’t mean that in a snarky way.  Really. *Insert angelic face.*  Both are very funny, both are great family men, and they both seem to tolerate me pretty well and usually laugh at my jokes which I personally consider to be a sign of truly great thinkers.  One is trying to run his own business and take care of his family which we all know in this economy is not the easiest thing to do.  He has developed this great political mind and will talk about current events in a way that makes me sit there dumbfounded.  The other is an Army man.  He has just come home from Iraq for some well earned R&R with his family.  He has also just met his brand new beautiful baby daughter who thankfully looks like her mother. [I said it.]

The BILS are great guys.  They both make you glad that you know them.  They help me out whenever I need it.  One of them even let me drive his truck once.  As you might guess, that also makes him a very brave man.  I now think of them as my own brothers.  I tease them, get on their nerves, try and make them laugh, try and be there if they ever need me.  I know we can all still get on each other’s nerves from time to time.  (Well, not me, of course, but you understand what I’m trying to say, right?)  But most of all, I admire them.  And I am thankful that I know them.  (But I’m really thankful they both gave me a sister-in-law cause we all know girls are better than guys.)

*Photo Credit: Stockxpert